The global transition to low-carbon energy sources is underway! The international community must make an effort to thoroughly understand the advantages and disadvantages of each type of energy. The environmental impacts of renewable energy, however minor they may be in contrast to fossil fuels, coal, and gas, must be considered and addressed. This article explores and answers the question: are wind turbines bad for the environment? Read on to learn about the various environmental impacts of wind energy and the numerous ways the energy industry is looking to resolve these issues.
Wind Power Can Have Adverse Social And Environmental Impacts
Wind energy, like all other forms of energy production, can negatively affect the environment, including the loss, fragmentation, or degradation of habitat for animals, fish, and plants. Furthermore, wind farms may also inadvertently affect people residing near them.
Carbon-Free But Not Waste-Free
Wind energy is carbon-free, and 85% of turbine parts, such as steel, copper wire, electronics, and gearing, may be recycled or used again. The fiberglass blades, however, are still challenging to dispose of or recycle.
Researchers predict that over the next 20 years, the United States will need to dispose of more than 720,000 tons of blade material; this estimate excludes newer, taller, higher-capacity variants.
Wind turbine blades need to be disposed of or recycled when the turbines are at their end-of-use stage. When individual wind turbines have reached the end of their lifecycle, the operators can opt to have them undergo a process called repowering.
Repowering a Wind Turbine
Repowering involves keeping most of the turbine’s infrastructure but upgrading the blades with larger, more technologically-advanced ones. The operators then transport them for recycling or disposal.
Taking these blades apart for materials is costly, often requiring enormous and expensive equipment. With the cost of recycling in mind, most wind farm operators dispose of these blades in landfills instead.
The materials of turbine blades also make it difficult to reuse them efficiently. Manufacturers usually cast these blades using glass, carbon fiber, wood, and a resin system. The resin binds all the components together, which is challenging to separate from the other materials upon decommissioning.
Raised Surface Temperatures And Associated Climatic Impacts
Assessing how much land would be needed to supply future U.S. energy consumption is one of the first steps in evaluating the environmental impact of renewable energy. Leading energy experts have long disagreed over the necessary land area and associated power densities, even when starting with today’s energy demands.
However, Harvard University researchers say wind farms need more land to meet the proposed renewable energy targets. They would also start to influence the climate on such a large scale.
The researchers found that switching to wind or solar power in the U.S. would require five to twenty times more land than previously believed.
The researchers covered one-third of the North American continent with enough wind turbines to supply all the country’s present electricity demands to make this projection. They discovered that in this scenario, the continental United States’ surface temperature would rise by 0.24 degrees Celsius, with nighttime surface temperatures rising by up to 1.5 degrees.
This warming resulted from wind turbines actively mixing with the atmosphere above and below the ground while also drawing energy from the movement of the atmosphere.
Harvard scientists also discovered that for the first century of its operation, the warming effect of wind turbines in the United States was more substantial than the benefit of reduced emissions. The warming is primarily local to the wind farm, and the advantages require a global decrease in greenhouse gas concentrations.
Wind energy has immediate effects on the climate, but the benefits of reduced emissions accumulate slowly. A short-term perspective would indicate that wind energy substantially impacts the environment more than fossil power plants. However, in the long run, wind beats coal because it undoubtedly has less climate impact.
A Threat To Birds And Bats
The rotating turbine blades can inadvertently affect birds and bats through direct collision or an air pressure reduction. In the case of bats, a condition called barotrauma can kill them. Barotrauma results from an abrupt air pressure reduction that damages the bat’s lungs, killing the animal immediately.
Bats, like some birds, have a limited capacity for reproduction, necessitating high adult survival rates to maintain their population. The effect of industrial wind turbines on bats can be incredibly severe to the point of causing an entire species to go extinct. For instance, the Hoary bat, a species found in North America, may go extinct due to mortality from wind farms.
In the same way that turbines on land put birds at risk, offshore wind turbines can threaten seabirds. Bird species that share wintering and migrating grounds with wind farms, such as guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, and northern gannets, are very susceptible to collision. According to the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, painting one of the wind turbine blades black could significantly lower the likelihood of a crash.
Researchers have also noted that some seabird species avoid active offshore wind facilities. The wind industry must thoroughly investigate potential wind farm locations to ascertain whether they can harm or negatively impact birds and bats.
Offshore Wind Farms And Marine Life
According to certain studies, offshore wind energy facilities can have negative environmental impacts on marine life. There have been several studies recently on the relationship between offshore wind turbines and marine ecosystems. These studies examined the long-term impacts of offshore wind projects like the Block Island Wind Farm on marine biomass, population diversity, and migratory patterns.
For one, turbines may become prime habitats for invasive species because they attract several fish species and other wildlife looking for food and refuge. For example, some invasive species have infiltrated the North Sea due to the new habitats generated by offshore wind farms in the surrounding area. Introducing invasive species can have significant and disastrous ecological effects, including the collapse of fisheries and local extinctions.
The tendency of offshore wind farms to reduce organic materials and food for marine life is another issue. Recent research suggests that phytoplankton, bacteria, and other suspension-feeding invertebrates are responsible for a localized loss of organic matter in specific oceanic ecosystems.
Offshore Turbine Installation Makes Animals Deaf
Animals that use sound for communication may also be affected by the wind turbines’ noise during installation and operation. For example, porpoises are especially at risk because the 200 dB of noise generated by turbine construction renders them nearly deaf and blind.
Disapproval Of Local Residents
Most wind farms are present in rural areas with low population densities. For individuals who live close to one another, noise and aesthetics can be a problem; residents may find wind farms too noisy and ugly. Energy providers can, however, solve this issue by installing wind turbines in remote locations with minimal human effect and where landowners have given their permission.
Wind turbines generate wideband noise as they encounter air turbulence with their blades. Broadband noise is the term used to describe the “whooshing” sound made by operating wind turbines.
Some wind turbines, especially the older models, produce low-frequency noises. These noises are due to the mechanical components of the turbine and unusual wind currents interacting.
Nevertheless, improvements in wind energy technology are allaying concerns about noise pollution. Most scientists agree that the tiny noise emissions from most wind turbines have no harmful effects on health.
How Are The Negative Impacts Of Wind Turbines Being Addressed?
Recyclable Wind Turbine Components
Recyclable turbine components might solve the wind energy industry’s long-standing waste issue. The root of this waste issue lies with the wind industry’s lack of cost-efficient ways to recycle the composite materials of the blades of a wind turbine.
To make wind turbines fully recyclable, wind energy companies like Siemens Gamesa have started developing recyclable turbine blades. With the deployment of recyclable blades, researchers predict that 200,000 blades could be recycled and kept out of landfills.
Research Initiatives
The Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) carries out research and development initiatives to solve siting and environmental challenges to understand and alleviate the hindrances to the adoption of wind power.
According to WETO, addressing impact minimization, siting, and permitting issues are among the highest priorities for the wind industry due to the potential effects wind power may have on wildlife and the environment.
For more than 24 years, the organization has supported peer-reviewed research through partnerships with environmental and wind industry groups, including the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative (NWCC) and the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative.
The Benefits Of Wind Power Outweigh The Drawbacks
Although wind power may have disadvantages, these are negligible compared to their benefits. Currently, the positives of wind energy outweigh its drawbacks and the cons of conventional energy sources.
Here are some examples of the several benefits of wind power:
Clean, Sustainable, And Cost-Effective
Wind energy is a clean and limitless energy source since wind turbines can produce electricity without fuel.
There is no need for fuel because wind turbines produce all their electricity from the wind. The individual turbines in a wind farm can function without being connected to an additional power source once it has started.
Wind turbines also do not release greenhouse gases or particulates that can harm the environment or be harmful to human health, unlike power plants that rely on burning fossil fuels.
In contrast to fossil fuels, notably coal, wind projects are far less expensive. According to Lazard, a financial analyst company, coal costs between $57 and $148, while unsubsidized wind projects can provide electricity for $32 to $62 per megawatt-hour.
Wind turbines require less upkeep than coal and nuclear power facilities to keep them operating. Wind power plant operation and maintenance only cost $42,000 to $48,000 a year.
Since wind energy depends on a free and limitless energy source, it may be sold at a fixed price for an extended period without harming energy suppliers’ profitability.
Exceptional Energy Efficiency
Thanks to recent technological advancements, wind turbines are now very efficient and reliable energy harvesters.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the typical American wind turbine produces about 843,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month, enough to power 940 households, making it one of the most efficient energy producers in the country.
Stimulates And Revitalizes Economies
Wind energy projects can benefit the local economy in several ways, including generating more jobs, expanding the local tax base, and giving farmers more money in the form of land lease payments.
According to a Purdue University research paper, the U.S. economy might gain $24 billion from an increase in wind energy production. The same analysis indicates that multiple industries like manufacturing, building, finance, transportation, and public administration would gain the most monetarily.
A wind farm might enhance the community and landscape aesthetics in places where tourism is crucial to the local economy. Additionally, travelers eager to visit and observe wind turbines may increase thanks to new wind projects.
Conclusion
Unquestionably, the energy production sector needs drastic transformation. Climate change is a pressing issue that humans have to address immediately with effective long-term solutions.
The demand for renewable energy sources like wind and solar power significantly rises as the world’s supply of conventional energy sources like coal, oil, gas, and other fossil fuels run out. At the same time, the global community is doing what it can to lower the carbon emissions produced by fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy sources.
Thanks to technological developments, the energy efficiency of wind turbines, and the rising cost of non-renewable energy sources like coal and fossil fuels, wind energy remains one of the best options for sustainable energy production.
Although wind energy has several advantages, if it is to take the place of traditional energy sources, the renewable energy industry must resolve its drawbacks.
The wind power sector can supply most of the world’s electricity with consistent support, bringing clean energy, jobs, and a cleaner environment. Numerous countries already use wind energy. As energy storage technology advances, it might become even more common.